Eclipse
by xxSouseikixx
Summary: Was it fate that decided that the world should end? This is the last generation, let the three rise.
1. Chapter Prologue

Prologue

--[{There doesn't always have to be a reason…}] –

A vague presence, born into the night. Marked by the chosen, who grew and was lost into the darkness of the Void. Here I am, alone, a watcher of all the others who came before me. Watching, as the others before me did. I, whose friend was only the wolves and demons of the Realm, the King had challenged the Void to bring me back. But had utterly failed and was lost forever in the grasp it. Since then the kingdom bled in despair, engulfed in eternal torture and beasts of the Realm. Ah, maybe I should explain. My life was simple, but yet I was Marked by the chosen. Maybe that was why the Void took me first. It was a strange feeling when it happened. I cannot explain it, for it is nameless. Sweet yet bitter. I will tell the tale of how this shadow country became, how the Chosen won, yet lost everything. Before my time runs out, I must find him….It was 100 years ago, when he was still but a boy…


	2. Chapter 1

Eclipse

Chapter 1-Introductions

_A cloaked man appeared on the sphere, moving so fast as if he was half gone and half visible. He wore a pirate's bandana and a Xeraphim on his right hand. He was a developing infighter, one of the lost breed among the maplers. He stopped, not even panting, and looked right at the sphere. His aura shone white for a split second and the air seemed to shimmer for awhile. He turned, disappeared, and the sphere blackened only to show a different scene. _

This time it showed a young woman, fleeing from a village filled with smoke. The girl was streaming tears and her clothes showed burning marks of her recent encounters. She wore hunter's clothes and a quiver full of arrows on her back. Her bow was ready and strung as she entered into the rogue forests of ellinia. Her aura gleamed red, and once again, the air twisted and the vision of her on the sphere was gone.

_A young boy appeared on the sphere. He met with his opponent with a clash of blades and quickly executed a perfect savage blow in a second with his deadly fin. His opponent crashed into the ground, his weapon also falling. The broken body erupted into flame a moment later, and it disappeared. The boy brushed off the blood from his blade and prepared for the next attack. His aura blazed blue, and the connection was once again broken._

The sphere cracked, and split into a thousand pieces. The sorcerer sighed and watched as the door to the room creaked open. The Captain came in. He wielded a Pinaka and the best armor that you could find. "These are your chosen, sir. The ones from the prophecy, as you wished." "Your job is now finished. Tell no one or you shall find yourself engulfed in flame as hot as hell itself." The sorcerer quickly bowed his head and rushed out of the room, relieved that what he believed was the worse was over. The Captain muttered something under his breath and he disappeared in a flash of light.

The boy blocked the incoming attack with his wristguard while he side-kicked his opponent, sending him flying towards the nearest wall. The boy was one of the most wanted in all of Victoria Island, his capture reward was 1 billion mesos. His name was Adrian, a talented young man born with the art of daggers and bandits. But…his father's mistake sent the kingdom on the brink of despair. Adrian closed his eyes and exploded his aura, making every living human around him freeze to death from his ice spell. He opened his eyes, hasted himself, and ran into the night. As he ran he felt a strange presence, as if it was someone of great importance yet a friend. _Find me._ He slowed down, using all of his senses to find and hear the voice again. A bright light illuminated from a couple of trees in front of him. _Come to me. _Adrian braced himself and walked forward into the clearing. When his eyes adjusted, he saw was the goddess Minerva herself.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Velocity

The cloaked man awoke from his nap against a tree. He lifted a small chain from his neck and a small pendant appeared at the end of it. He looked at it, and closed his eyes while the pendant disappeared. _Wait for me, Lyza…I'll find you, I promise. Just wait for me. _The man slowly got up and stretched his arms and legs. He then ran on, in direction to Ellinia.

_((-Begin flashback-))_

"Hurry up Lyte! We'll miss lunch if you doddle!" Lyza called to her brother while she waited for him at the end of the field. " Jeez…lighten up Lyza. Its not like we're gonna be late or anything" Said Lyte as he finally caught up to his sister. She sighed and muttered something about being too laid back and never being serious and started walking again. Meanwhile, Lyte secretly pulled out a claw-like thing and put it on his arm. He sneaked up on his sister and grabbed her hand while he started to run. They disappeared and a few miles away, at the entrance of a town, they reappeared again. Lyte was panting and Lyza was looking at him, surprise written all over her face. "H-How did you do that? And what is THAT?" She pointed at Lyte's claw-like thing and stared at him. (f6) Lyte smiled brightly and replied " I thought it would make us get here faster..I mean, saves us the time right? And This 'thing' is a Xeraphim. It lets me travel super fast even though it takes up a lot of my energy." He took it off, shrunk it, and put it into his pocket. He then started talking to the town "Come on! You're the one that said to walk faster! Or do you wanna do something else now?" Lyza caught up to her brother, "Of course not! Come on, lets go. Or else they might yell at us again." She ran on ahead to one of the houses and went in. "Always in a hurry…" Lyte sighed and followed.

A few minutes later, they found themselves sitting down with a feast of fruit and meet on the dinner table. Their parents, who had prepared the meal, sat down on the other end of it. "So, Lyza, Lyte is going to go to a pirate job school in another continent. He's leaving early tomorrow morning for the boat." The father said, after he swallowed a morsel of food. "I know…" "You're going to stay with us. Your mother will teach you the basics of the bowman and you will stay here until you reach a higher level of skill." Lyte, however, remained silent through the whole evening and after he finished, left immediately and went straight to his room. Lyza followed him and found him packing his bags. She went past his room and into her own and picked up a chain. '_I almost completed the present. Just a little bit more…'_ Lyza concentrated her aura and the room glowed bright red. The chain absorbed the aura and after a few seconds, it also started glowing red. Lyza picked up the chain and a small pendant appeared on the end of it. '_Done. I'll give it to him tomorrow, just before he leaves. I'll sure miss him…_' She put it in a box on her windowsill and she slept, exhausted from the aura transfer.

Lyte pulled out a feather from his pocket and held it out before him. It was white and he held out his other hand. He concentrated his aura into his palm and his hand became slightly white. He then transferred his aura to the feather and it also glowed white. When he finished, he put it on his bed and looked at it. '_My gift…I hope Lyza likes it. I wonder if she remembered.' _ He carefully put it in a box, identical to Lyza's. He then continued packing.

The next morning Lyte stood in front of the house, saying good-bye to the neighbors and his parents. Lyte eventually managed to get out of the mob of people and walked up to Lyza. He held out the box with the feather in it and said "Here. I finished mine. Did you finish yours?" Lyza took the box and gave him hers. "Of course I did! Come back, okay? This place'll be so gloomy without you…" They hugged each other and said their good-byes. Lyte walked to the direction of Ellinia, where the boats were.

_{{-End Flashback-}}~~_


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – White Flame

_Narrator: Some believe that Lucifer was the one the one that covered the earth unto eternal darkness, while others just believe that it was a unfortunate incident. Rather, it was simply a misunderstanding. __Worship, destruction, confusion, peace…that is all that such a thing brought down to the mapling world. _

Lyza collapsed in the shade of an oak tree. She turned around so she was lying on her back. She slowly took out a box, opened it, and took out the white feather that her brother had given her. She closed her eyes and memories once again stormed into her head, of her family all together, when they were little, the day that Lyte had left…and finally the vivid picture of her burning village in her head. _Lyte…I wish you were here. Maybe then I wouldn't have accidently done it and caused such destruction. _Lyza sighed. _I know you'll be back though…that's all that matters. _She put the feather back into the box and then into her pocket. She got up and stretched her tired limbs. Suddenly, she felt a sharp sting of pain on her neck, and the world went black. She felt herself crumple on the floor and an arm of a stranger carry her away before she went totally unconscious.

Lyza woke up, in a bed covered with expensive linen sheets. She got up to a sitting position and then she looked all around her. A man wearing high ranking warrior armor with a dragon's gate sheathed was sitting next to her, a guard probably. He looked at her for a second and then went out of the room, bringing his weapon with him. A few moments later, the guard came back into the room, he beckoned her to follow him out and in a moment, Lyza found herself walking out in a well lit hall. Neither of them talked to each other while they walked. Lyza was still trying to figure out what happened and why she was even there when they came up to a big, well decorated door. The guard put his palm up to the door and his aura entered into one of the decorations. The door immediately opened and the pair walked into a large room. There were paintings on the walls, two rows of people from all four classes lined up on the four walls. Captain sat at the feet of a pillar, where he overlooked everything.

The guard pushed Lyza into the room and then the door slammed shut. Two of the people came up to her and escorted her up to Captain. "Who are you? Why am I here? Who are all these people? Where am I?" "I am Captain, the leader of the organization, Surge." He walked up to her and he looked at her neck. There was a glowing triangle with a symbol of flame. The next moment, Lyza was back in her room with only a vague memory of what had actually happened in the room. All she knew was that she wanted to stay in the place on which she was in…

Captain once again seated himself in the chair. He grinned at himself what he had just done. _I have one hybrid…two more to find for myself and everything will be mine! You'll pay for what you did to me, Ranger._ Captain walked up to the wall at the back of the room and slipped a silver cord into one of the openings in one of the bricks. The wall groaned and moved away to reveal a rack of the best job weapons there could be. He took for himself a Timeless Claymore and then, getting used to the weight of the weapon, he disappeared into the night, toward Ranger, Lyte, and Adrian.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Kanmaru

Adrian gazed wonderingly at the goddess for a moment, and then realized what he was looking at and once again started thinking. He knelt down before her, placing his weapons on the grass. "I-I'm Adrian, at your service." Minerva smiled a little and gave him a signal to stand. "Good. I've come to tell you some things. Sit." He sat down on the ground while Mineva also settled beside him. "One of them are the Kanmaru." Adrian's weapon appeared in her hand. Minerva's white/yellow aura came together in her hand, which then was absorbed into the deadly fin. There was a flash of white from the dagger and then, after, it turned back to its former form.

"I've activated it. A Kanmaru is a source of energy hidden inside every person in forms of mythical or real creatures, such as dragons, phoenixes and the rest. Normally, it lays dormant inside and never awakens until the person dies, where it will come out of the person and then reside in another. But, when I purposely allow my aura to be absorbed by an object, the person that wields the object Kanmaru will awaken and form into the weapon. I only do it for several people, like for instance, Taggrin of Crimsonwood Keep. His Kanmaru was the form of a black wolf. A form of Kanmaru varies in each person, never the same in two people unless one dies."

Minerva handed Adrian his Dragon's Tail. "All it takes for the Kanmaru to awaken is for the user to summon his aura while holding the object. Your Kanmaru will come out of yourself and into the weapon. If your object that your Kanmaru resides in is stolen, then a vast amount of your aura and energy will deplete and you will never be yourself again unless you take your enhanced blade back." Adrian ran his fingers over his weapon. "So, if I summon my aura right now, my Kanmaru will come out?" "..Yes" "What's the difference if my Kanmaru resides in my Dragon's Tail?" "Well, your aura will multiply tenfold and your skills sharper than before. You can either choose to fight with your normal form" Minerva pointed at the Dragon's Tail. "Or with a second, more powerful form. The second form varies depending on the Kanmaru itself. Also, the Kanmaru is as intelligent as any other being in the world, if not more. Never treat it badly or refer to it as a witless, dumb animal. It can do more devastating things than you can ever imagine." "Would you care to give me an example?" "Well…there were a few incidents where overturned countries, monsters, and others have been recorded." Adrian shuddered at the idea. "Now, do you want to awaken your Kanmaru?" Adrian took a moment to think and then replied with a yes.

"So, like I said earlier. Summon your aura into your hand that holds the weapon and the rest will be done by itself", instructed Minerva. Adrian took a deep breath and did as he was told. A blinding pain seemed to engulf him as his Kanmaru came out of him. Adrian felt himself crumble down on the ground and emit a blood curling scream and the next moments seemed to pass by in years. Finally, the transaction ended and Minerva restored him to his former self. While he recovered, the goddess took his Dragon's tail, which was blindingly blue at the moment, and handed it to him. Adrian uttered wordless thanks and took his weapon. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a voice that spoke only to him, broke the silence. _Hello, young one. I see that you've awaken me. The last time that happened was centuries ago…For this time, I will show you my form of your blade. _The Dragon's Tail shimmered silver/blue for a second and when it cleared, dual blades appeared. Blue and gold streaks decorated the hilt while the individual swords themselves were both razor sharp. One of the dual blades was blue while the other was golden. If you shifted the blades you could see a variety of blues and golds on both. Strange, foreign symbols appeared on the sides of both blades. Adrian held on in both hands and whipped them around himself for a feel for the swords. He stopped, approval in his eyes. Minerva moved closer to him and translated the symbols… "Rasavi…and Xeneth…" Minerva's eyes widened and she slowly backed away from Adrian and the swords.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Rastevash

Lyte stood a few feet away from the entrance to the harbor. He continued straight through a path hidden a little left from the blindingly white portal that led to the ships. Lyte, after a little struggle to get through the many bushes, trees, and other enchanted beings, opened his eyes upon a lush, quiet clearing. There wasn't a sound except for the continuous smooth sound of the brook that ran through the left side. _This place…still here after a few years too. I remember the day that my sister and I found this place…perhaps I can finally try 'it' here. _Lyte brought out a small sphere, similar to a marble, out of his pocket. He then took off his Xeraphim while carefully balancing the sphere on his palm. He brought the sphere and Xeraphim together and for a moment, everything went completely silent. Suddenly, the clearing flashed white for a split second. The next moment a tall adult stood a few feet away from where the Xeraphim, sphere, and Lyte once stood.

The adult was almost like a normal person, except for the radiation of a god that emanated from his god-like aura. He had a white shirt on, contrary to the black jeans that he also wore. He sighed at Lyte and, after studying him, spoke. "You've changed after the last few years, Lyte. This is your last wish. Why have you come to my haven, deep in the forest of Ellinia, that Grendel himself made to keep me away from the world? Last you wished for your Xeraphim…what do you need me of here now?" Lyte blinked a few times, then after a long pause, stood. "It has indeed been a long time, Father. I wish for the power to save my sister, Lyza." "Very well…This is the last time you see me, unless, of course, I summon you here. Anyhow, that can be granted." Lyte's father extended a hand for Lyte to take, and when they clasped hands, there was a small bolt of pure lightning that ran from Lyte's father to him. Lyte stumbled a bit, and then fell to the ground. From the corner of his eye, he saw a white entity on his palm. Lyte slowly got to a sitting position and examined the entity. It was a roundish white thing, and as he could see, there was an eagle in the center, as if it was actually alive. (it moved and stuff) _**Lyte. I am your Kanmaru, or spirit, as you may say. **_The being transmitted all the information of a Kanmaru into Lyte in a second. _**My name is Rastevash, the highest rank of speed/wind. Last I was summoned was centuries ago…But for this time, I will show you the properties of my Being. **_The thing shifted until it formed into a whitish form of a sword. _**I shift myself into whatever that is best suited for the situation. **_The form of the sword solidified. It was gray, much like Adrian's Kanmaru, with deep gold forms of words on the sword's back and front. _**Of course, you move even faster than you once did with your Xeraphim. Most of the forms will be different, but all shalt have the words .Satisfied? **_Lyte ran across the clearing as he would have without spending his aura into his old Xeraphim from before. He disappeared at some times and reappeared at other places, all in all, in ¾ s of a second, he had already ran 2x around the clearing and arrived at the same spot as did before. Without another word, the sword faded into the white form again. _**I will come again if needed. **_The form turned liquidy and went through his hand, into him. By then Lyte's Father had disappeared. Lyte mouthed a 'Thank You' and once again entered into the civil city of Ellinia, now in ruins and burning. Every house and tree were lit with flame, and from the time of the change that happened when he was with Rastevash, every was the complete opposite of what it was before Lyte was gone.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Reborn

_Narrator: The outcome at the end…it's so obvious, yet some try to continue down the path…Is it not true that it all disappears when 'it' actually happens? Why fight? Why hide? Ask yourself. Is it really worth it all, the pain, the fact that others burn before you as you go along.. When you think about it…its not. Heh…Sometimes, something might change…_

About 2 years after the capture of Lyza and awakenings of Adrian and Lyte.

Lyza shot the target dummy in front of her straight in the center, piercing its wood, the arrow continuing after it shot through the dummy. She strode over to her arrow and after a brief struggle, succeeded in taking it out of the wall. Lyza turned it over and read the letters that were inscribed on the back. **Lyte & Joshua. **She struggled to remember these two people, but, yet again, failed. _'I wonder who these people are…My past is so..foggy now.' _She sighed. _'Maybe Sir Ryan (Captain. Had to give him a name for Lyza =P)…He sure was nice to me since I came here. He even trained me and 'helped' me try to remember my memories too. I just wish he would tell me where he always is…'_ "You know, pondering on your memories isn't always a good thing, especially when you're supposed to be practicing…" Lyza gasped and quickly turned around. A man a little older than the age of her stood leaning on a nearby tree. He wore a vintage hooded shirt and vintage black jeans. He smiled at her from his tree and walked over. "John, just because you're in charge of me doesn't mean that you can do creep up on me."

(John: The right-hand man of Captain. Every girl in the organization loves him =P He is nice, handsome, and in charge of Lyza for the moment.)

A messenger raced into the courtyard, panting, and ran up to John. "Captain wants you to go to his office. Now. Also, you have to bring Lyza with you. Theres another code black emergency." With that, he bowed deeply to both, and again darted out of the yard. "Code black? Wow. That means that they're close to catching the other two hybrids. We'd better hurry, John." He nodded in agreement and they both teleported into the chambers of Captain.

Captain sat at his desk, reading the parchment that he recently received. **Captain, this is a code black emergency! We're on the trail of the other two hybrids, Adrian, and Lyte!** **Please send help! With their…specialties, we can't possibly defeat them! Only either You, or Lyza and John can do that! Please! **Captain finally put the letter down on his desk when a bright blue flash lit the room and Lyza and John arrived. Captain wordlessly handed the parchment to them. "This is code black. You two have tried against one of them, and failed. This time, you shall use 'it'. Find them, and bring them back to me." The parchment lit on fire and crumbled into dust. "Yes, Sir!" replied both. They once again disappeared. Captain then receded back in his chair. _That memory spell that I cast on Lyza should be completed. If all goes well, she won't remember a thing. Even if she does, John will be there, he always is. _

An hour later, Lyza and John reached the camp that sent the letter. They went to the squad leader, ignoring the others when they were bowed to. "Squad Leader Speed, you sent the parchment to Captain saying you found the two hybrids' trail. Show us." (John speaking) Speed bowed and then led them through a maze of trees, in the end they reached an open clearing where there was an obvious mark of battle. "The pair fought our group of hunters yesterday morning. They won unscathed, as always, and left this piece of ice with a black insignia." He led them again through the forest and in a few minutes, stopped. "We tracked them until here. Afterwards, they just disappeared from our view. Very strange." John kneeled on the ground and inspected a slightly glazed piece of grass. "Good enough. We'll find them." Speed saluted to them and left. "Heh. Amateurs. Come on, they obviously want us to find them. Well, might as well. We have to fight them anyways. Lets go in." "Fine. I hope they're not stupid enough to leave traps for us." Lyza replied. John trotted through a clump of bushes with Lyza close behind.

Adrian stopped in a very large open clearing. "This should be big enough. Lyte, if you really want your sister back, you could find the place yourself you know…" Lyte stopped a few inches away. "I know, but you have a knack for this. Don't wanna waste it" Lyte trotted closer to Adrian. "Remember the plan. You can't fail this part, understand? I trust that you can take them both. Should be easy for you, since you haven't even used your full Kanmaru in any of their fights yet. Are you planning to release..?" Adrian made a face at Lyte and reached behind his back, where his dragon's tail was kept. "Of course! This is their only chance of getting either you or me, and they haven't used theirs yet either. I wonder how Ryan figured how to get the Kanmaru out. I thought the second way was a well kept secret in my family.. Anyways, You'd better come in too. The most I can give you 15 minutes before I release it full. Hurry up and do yours as well. Their reasonably tough for half-bred hybrids." Lyte emitted a chuckle. "Yeah." He raced out and called over his shoulder. "Be careful!"

Adrian sighed and turned around, whipping his dragon's tail right in front of him and smirked. "heh… Aren't you the fast one? Too bad." The dragon's tail shimmered white and a second later, John was half a clearing away from Adrian. Adrian, in turn, held two dualblades, Rasavi and Xeneth. The blades still shimmered an insane white. "Well, you have the guts to face us yourself, huh? Wheres your partner?" Lyza said a

few feet away. Lyza's bow turned black and a curved black bow appeared in her hands. The bow also had an etching in it that read **Siphon**. "Very good! I'm sure you could beat us separately, but how to you fair together?" John's claw also turned red and transformed into a long, sharp arm-claw that went up to his shoulder. His etching was **Estravil.** Adrian sighed again.Xeneth glowed a very bright gold and transformed even further. It grew longer, and was only bright gold, with many more variations. The air around it pulsed and shimmered in heat while emitting a semi-godly aura. Adrian's arm also showed signs of gold. "Lets see…Normal is 1%. I'm pretty sure that 10% should be enough." Lyza and John watched the transformation wonder. Telepathy was one of their skills. _Can we take him? Just look at that! John…/ We can. Is yours at lvl 1 full? / yes./ Lets see how we fair before we change to lvl 2. _

Adrian smirked, placing Xeneth in front of him, for something that even Captain couldn't evade…


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Half Golden

Alce became misty, evaporating into John's arm, while Siphon bust into pure black flame. A split second later the pair found themselves shielding their eyes from an insanely blinding light that was emitted from Xeneth. The air grew colder still as ice formed from the sky, crashing down into the earth at amazing speed, and shattering in many other particles. An ice spike nearly landed on John as lightning shot out from his body, momentarily shielding him from any nearby ice. A blue flame circled around Lyza, any oncoming ice immediately turned into steam. Adrian smiled as the light faded and John and Lyza regrouped. Rasavi was now a double-bladed curved sword, completely blood red. Adrian's arm now also had red marks on it, mixed with the golden. John teleported from next to Lyza to the opposite side of Adrian. John's aura crackled as lightning surged within it while Siphon's flame grew larger and hotter. "This is nice, but your 15 minutes are almost over." Steam rose from Rasavi, the ice on the ground also quickly turning into steam and developing around Rasavi. Lyza's eyes widened, (telepathy will be like this now. [] will be for Lyza and {} will be for John. ^^) [John…hes done that before! If we even hope to lesson the odds we have to strike now, or we're done for!] {Argh…Fine. We'll have to use what we've been practicing for.} [Fine. We have a couple of seconds] A large star faded into existence next to John's arm, spinning in supernatural speeds from the voltage of electricity that surged within it. John lunged at Adrian, the star in front of him. John jumped into the air, his aura adding speed. He threw his star, and made two assaulters in the front and back of Adrian. (Couldn't explain it unless using assaulter :P) Flame encircled Adrian, pillars surrounding him, making a virtual cage. Adrian ran his fingers along Rasavi, a white wing slowly coming out of his back. Xeneth shook vigorously as the wind took place, and then faded into mist, evaporating into Adrian's arm. The same process went along with Rasavi. Meanwhile, Lyza and John took out two scrolls from their pockets, hastily marking it with blood, and then sealed them into the cage. They stood back as the cage took a hideous transformation. A blackened aura encircled it as Adrian's eyes opened wide, The cage closed in on him, like a dog in it's cage. The flame turned into a substance from another world, chaotic symbols appearing up and down the walls. The top closed and then nothing could be seen by Lyza or John. They then each brought out another scroll, and also marked them and binded them into the cage.

Xeneth and Rasavi shimmered and shook as the wings disappeared and they resumed their former form, the dualblades. The chaotic magic sealing them back into the Dragon's Tail. Adrian himself was sprawled on the ground, shaking. He emitted a bloodcurling scream as the magic too its toll, and he slipped into a made subconscious. Black magic encircled his body, binding him and keeping him in the subconscious. By this time, Lyza and John had just finished binding the other scrolls into the cage. Black magic encircled the Dragon's Tail, also binding it. Several spells made from the Chaotic energy binded and did things to Adrian as he fell into complete darkness.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Darkness

John relaxed and sat on the floor while Lyza held a round, black jewel next to the cage. The prison turned liquidy and filled into the jewel, the gem itself glowing black and a miniature form of Adrian appeared in the center. "How long do you think it'll take for him to…be 'erased'?" Lyza shoved the crystal into her pocket. "Well, Captain said it normally takes a couple of days, but with him, it could take longer. At least we're halfway done our mission." "Yeah. Should we send him back or.." A blast of wind rattled the trees, the sheer force of it snapped the trunks of the trees in half. The clearing became a living tornado, uprooted trees flew into the sky, grass, even small unfortunate animals ended up dead along the shores of the river nearby. Lyza's bow once again lit into flame, only to be blown out a split second later. [Oh no…neither of us have fought the other chosen yet.] {I know. Watch out for-} A glowing dragon appeared behind a blurry figure for an instant, and the next thing they knew they were in the jaws of it, suspended in the air. The figure reappeared in front of the pair, Rastevash taking the form of a Timeless Knuckle on Lyte's arm. Lyza and John felt their energy decrease as Lyte stole it away. "Who are you?" Lyza tried talking, but the wind took her voice away from her. White light formed around him as Lyte transformed into his 'godly' mode. He appeared in front of the two. _I am your brother. _Lyza's eyes widened as Lyte held his hands facing both. The pair struggled from the dragon's grip as Lyte casted Demolition and Barrage to them, instantly knocking them out.

The clearing turned cold, and the wind was forced to a stop. The air around Lyte pressurized, holding him in place. An outline of Captain clapped its hands. "Very nice! Entertaining. But, I know you would like to take your sister back, I still need them." Captain strode across the clearing, tossing a dark sapphire in front of Lyte. "For this, I will grant you that. I'm sure you also want Adrian back, but that is something I cannot let you do. Nor can I let you interfere with my plans. I need him, and you will not stop me. I would take you too, but then you wouldn't entertain me and the author of this story wouldn't be able to continue it. (Lol)" Captain strolled in front of Lyte, placing his hand slightly over his head. Chaos magic flowed from Captain and into Lyte, instantly making him unconscious. "You will not awake until Adrian is completely 'erased', nor will you approach him. This way Minerva cannot interfere." Captain strode toward John and Lyza, and in a flash, disappeared.

Adrian's Perspective

_Where am I? Who am I? _Adrian awoke in a well-furnished room, alone. A round black circle now surrounded his 'mark' of a chosen. His Dragon's Tail was laid next to him, along with a note attached. It read: **You're wondering who you are, aren't you? Well, I will tell you. Your name is Adrian, and I can't tell you all who you are right now, so I will meet you myself and tell you. Sincerely, Captain.** The next moment after Adrian finished reading the note it burst into black flame, disappearing. John entered into the room afterwards, as if he didn't even know who Adrian was, led him to Captain's study. A very vague memory of John and Captain came into his head, though the thought immediately vanished. Adrian shook his head to clear his mind of this as Captain beckoned him into an empty chair. Captain answered the unspoken question. "I'm Captain. I understand that you want to know who you are." He offered a cup of water to Adrian, who took it. Black magic fogged Adrian's mind in the next moment, he had no absolute recollection of his past when Captain told him. "Anyways, you came here wanting to start anew and requested that you would be 'erased'. So I did it. Though you knowledge of things should still be with you." Adrian thanked Captain and left through the door, where he went back to his room.

Captain fingered the hilt of his Pole Arm. _I erased all the memories that both Lyza and John had of Adrian, so his 1__st__ personality shouldn't come back anytime soon. Too bad I can't corrupt him too. The general laws forbid that a person's already-released Kanmaru be corrupted…I'll let them recover for awhile, by then, my perfect world, the 'Void' should be almost ready. _

Farther away, in his laboratory where he kept his jewels were, the black crystal cracked. And this act would destroy the world and cover it into darkness.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 –Falling Pieces

_Narrator__: Your weapon represents only fear. When you attack someone, you're afraid of cutting someone. When you dodge, you're afraid of getting hurt. When you're protecting someone, you're afraid of letting them die. You're sword speaks only of complete fear. Fear - the only thing in the world we are beyond help from, the only thing that can cripple and discard ourselves like trash. _

Lyte awoke in the field, the magic releasing him at last. He rolled over so his back was on the grass, and stared up at the sky as he contemplated what happened a few days ago. Lyte's father materialized in front of the sapphire, which dark color was slowly fading in to a pure blue. Lyte remained where he was while his father (Joshua) scooped up the sapphire. "Isn't it ironic that the thing that Ryan gave you so you could die turned out to be the thing that would eventually save your best friend?" The sapphire was now emitting a bright blue/white glow and now had two white bands about an inch above it's surface that suspended into the air. Rastevash went back to its original form on Lyte's hand, dissolving into him. Lyte pulled himself into a sitting position, his father handing him the sapphire inside a light blue and gold box. (I will now refer Lyte's father as Joshua for convenience) Lyte peered at the sapphire, admiring the crystal as he stood, and then he lifted the pendant that Lyza had given him and flipped it open. Bright red sparks flew out of it and around the box, and a second later it disappeared. He closed it and put it back underneath his shirt. "I've fashioned a way for Captain to not be able to corrupt you, or in other words 'erase' you. It won't hurt much, but Ryan shouldn't be able to do to you the same thing he did to Adrian. Whatdya say?" Lyte (obviously) nodded and Joshua motioned him to sit on the grass. Joshua's pure golden aura glistened in the light as it poured into Lyte's 'mark' of the chosen. About 5 minutes later Lyte's father withdrew, not even breathing hard. Lyte himself checked it and found that the outlines of the triangle and the sign of wind/lightning were slightly glowing gold, but only a little. Joshua smiled as Lyte once again stood and he faded away. Lyte look behind him for his father but failing, he closed his eyes. Rastevash came out of him, blending in with Lyte's aura its own glowing intensely. Slowly the glow diminished until it was invisible to the naked eye, granting Lyte speed. The sky was darkening into twilight as he sped forward into the night, to orbis.

Elsewhere…

Lyza lay on her bed, thinking about Lyte and what he said. Slowly, things unraveled before her, the arrow, the beautiful white feather that was her secret, and hers alone. _At least we don't have to worry anymore about other chosen that Captain brought back with him. Now we can just focus on Lyte. _She looked out the window, at the twilight sky.

Meanwhile…

Spectators cheered John's opponent as he dodged another one of his Avengers. John jumped high into the sky. _Damn, I can't hit him! Who is he? It feels like he can anticipate my every move, and he's not even trying! _John smirked as he charged his special Avenger with electricity, making it spin until it was a blur and it glowed slightly staticy, the color of his aura. He feinted with another one from his left side and while his opponent recovered, he threw his electric one. Adrian on the other hand, looked at the avenger with slight interest as he stood in its way. He caught the first one with his hand, dead straight in the center when the other one shot at him, traveling at supersonic speed. _This isn't even a challenge. Besides, I am one of the past commanders. Or so Captain says. _Adrian once again caught the avenger, immediately charging it even more with his ice aura which converted into electricity when it touched the avenger. Thus, it spun until it was impossible to see, even with the greatest technology that exists in rl. Adrian smirked and re-threw the two avengers, both converted-electric charged. John looked with amazement at Adrian, and suddenly found himself on the ground, the two Avengers missing him by one centimeter, intentional, and Adrian stood towered in front him, his eyes ice-blue. Adrian un-sheathed one of his two dual-blades, (Captain changed the wep too, so now Adrian is using a special pair of dual blades designed for him and nobody else, if anyone else uses it, they will probably end up dying or something, I haven't decided. His Kanmaru is in it too. They're Onyx and Nameless blades cuz they look the same. But I will refer to them as Xeneth and Rasavi cuz it sounds cooler) Xeneth, and pointed at each of John's vital organs, ending with his throat. "Dead." He helped John get up. "I told you not to challenge me." Adrian turned around and left the yard, some spectators trailing him and patting him on the back, while some girls shadowed him, obviously changing their sights from John to Adrian. Adrian's aura that was in the avengers broke away and solidified into ice, and slowly melted into the ground. The avengers faded until all that was left was the electricity from John, which it bonded to. John sighed and cleaned his clothes, contemplating who Adrian actually was. The crowd slowly broke apart and a few even dared to talk to John. Days after the actual fight there was gossip about John losing his first street-fight since he and Captain founded Surge.

Somewhere else in Surge's headquarters…

Captain entered the training yard as about a dozen advanced 4th job people sparred. The Dark Knight had just re-directed the Night Lord's Avenger, and it was now sailing straight at Captain. (About 1½ the speed of John's electric one) "Nice block! Next time maybe you should tr-"The dk stared at the avenger and Captain. "Oh crap…We're in for it now." The nearest to Captain, the Shadower, raced to the avenger, apparently trying to deflect the star, not succeeding. Captain rolled his eyes and disappeared and reappeared in front of the Night Lord, with the perfect avenger an inch about his hand, still spinning but not moving, held it for the Night Lord to take. He reached out for his star. "Uh…th-th-anks." He took the star and it slowed until it was perfectly still. The group stood in a small semi-circle around Captain. It turned out there was one from each class. The Night Lord, the Shadower, the Dark Knight, of which was mentioned earlier, a Bow Master, all of the classes of mages, a Paladin, a marksman, and the two classes of pirates. "For the trouble of that, I'm going to ask a favor of you 12. First, introduce yourselves." The Buccaneer, evidently the leader, took on the responsibility of the names. "The Night Lord is Jack, the Shadower over to that side" He gestured to the far left. "is Laura, the Dark Knight is Tyler. The Bow Master's name is Dylan, and the Marksman is Emily. The fire mage is Connor, the ice Nicholas, and the Bishop Ashley. The Paladin is Nick, the Hero Justin. Finally, the Corsair is Jennifer. I'm Alex." He pointed at each one and then stepped back, waiting for Captain to give instructions. "Good. I want you 12 to stall a certain…insect. Here are your orders. Tyler, I want you to…" And so the conversation continued until everyone was stationed here or there, but each was given an important role for the 'capture' or in some other sense, the 'beginning' of the end.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Tainted Darkness

_The narrator holds out a mechanical hologram machine, made from New Leaf City, from Professor Foxwit. The machine beeps, and a hologram of Future Adrian shows above it. _

_F. Adrian: The world has a limit to everything, limit to strength, limit to speed, even a limit for age. That's what normal people think. There is a limit, that much is true, but it just depends how high you set the bar. Everything in the world has an end, but you decide how far off the end is. _

_The hologram stops talking, and it disappears. The narrator wordlessly pl__aced it back in his/her pocket and resumed the story again. _

Lyte halted in front of the orbis tower. He sighed and Rastevash grew brighter, a slight breeze suddenly shook the trees. "Oh, come on. I know you're there. You've been following me since I arrived here." Laura appeared behind him, her dagger around his neck. A second after Laura appeared, the rest of the close-combat classes also appeared in a circle around Lyte, weapons drawn and ready. Alex stood in the center of the loose circle. "Cocky…we're here to escort you to Captain. We outnumber you, so there's no point in fighting." Lyte, however, grinned and the breeze slowly fell to nothing. The five, who took this as a sign of surrender, began to disperse and do the thing which Captain told them to do. (drug him) Rastevash glowed brightly in the faint sky and in the next moment the five were all flung in different directions, blown away at supersonic speeds. The next moment was indeed a blurry memory for Lyte seemed like he was attacking all five of them at once, like he was at five places at once. At this point the other people of the group were still recovering and only when two of their fellow friends blew past them did they actually start moving. Lyte reappeared at the tower, the winds escalating at over 200 miles per minute, making it almost impossible to move, let alone attack. The rest of the people desperately fired arrows, summoned magic, and threw stars at him while the only cleric in the party, Ashley, struggled to heal all of them at once, failing since the range of the five who were blown were beyond. Thus she resulted in doing half of her job, which was keeping all the people safe and healed, by curing only the mages, bowman, and rogues. The rest were at least a quarter around the globe by then. The arrows, magic, and stars were fired, but immediately redirected. Their eyes all widened as Lyte tapped on each of their necks, sending strong electric currents into their bodies, enough to keep them paralyzed and unconscious. At some point or other, they each thought this: _This isn't possible! _The group later on awoke, all 12 in the same place, in a circle.

It was far into the night when the 12 woke. The floor was blown apart by the winds earlier in the day, some trees that were there were overturned, and several buildings were slightly uprooted. Every possible organism in the region was dead or had fled, aside the group. As a result, area was dead silent, and not even a cricket sounded.

Strangely, the party woke up in the same time, clutching their heads or stretching. It took about one minute for them to realize the scene around them or the complete defeat from Lyte. When they did though, they immediately jumped up and reached for weapons that weren't there. A dim figure teleported in front of their eyes, in the center of the circle. Their eyes widened when they recognized who it was. Captain (obviously) stood there, calm as usual. Dylan recovered first. "Sir! You must know that we lost, or else why would you even be here? We tried, but he was way too stro-" Captain glared at him, and he immediately stopped talking. "Yes, I know you lost. That's what I expected anyways. I need you to stall him a bit more, my subordinate isn't even near to ready yet. Now that I know what his capabilities are, I need to do…something to you." Captain lifted a finger, and several daggers, claws, swords, bows, and staffs appeared in the air, levitating. "Pick one. Then we can proceed." They gaped at the weapons, startled that they could even touch them. The weapons themselves were deadly sharp and designed to kill, the best in the classes. Justin took the Timeless Claymore, (the one that Captain used two years ago) Nick the Dragon Battle Axe, Dylan the Dragon Claymore, Emily the Dragon Shiner Cross, Jack the Red Craven, Laura the Dragon Kreda, Tyler the Dragon Pertizan, Connor the Dragon Staff, Nicholas the Doomsday Staff, Ashley the Elemental Staff, Alex the Timeless Knuckle and Jennifer the Dragonfire Revolver. Each and every one of them admired their weapons, tested their weapons, and found that the weapons were almost light-weight and felt as if it was made specifically for them. Once again they formed a circle around Captain. "Good. Now, the next step is releasing your Kanmaru, or spirit. It enables you to go over your extremities and become more powerful than anyone before you, except me and some others." Jennifer eyed her new Revolver and said "Everything has a price. What's this one?" "You'll be linked to me. You will be granted an immortal life and serve me but, isn't that what you vowed to do when you joined Surge?" They whispered to each other in urgent voices and nodded. Alex stood forward. "Yes. We will do it. Anything for you, sir." Captain smiled, a rare find. "Good. Just so you know, I appoint Alex and Jennifer as leader and co-leader. Anyways, I want you all lying on the ground. Now." They instantly obeyed his order and lay in the circle.

Captain's pure black aura came out, engulfing the twelve bodies in back mist. The mist, in turn, dissolved into their bodies, and into their vital organs. (I'm using Jennifer as my perceptive person, cuz I like her the best ;D)

_-- ~Jennifer's Sight of the Awakening~--_

It had felt weird when the mist surrounded her, as thick so she couldn't even see beyond it. But, the worst was later. She watched as the mist dissolved into her, and her body seemed to burn and freeze at the same time, and it felt like a hundred daggers were stabbing her at once. She saw spots, and faded into unconsciousness.

_~--Back to them all__--~_

They awoke at the same place, their bodies strangely light. Next to them lay their weapons, which were glowing according to the person's aura. Captain paced around, summoning a magic wall around the orbis area. Justin picked up his sword, and nudged the rest of the group to do the same. After a few minutes, they gathered around Captain. He finished the wall and turned to the group. "I'm going to teach you how to use it, and to tell you what effects the Kanmaru has with you. I made this wall as a…sort of a separate time dimension. It'll wear off when you finish. Anyways, the training starts now."

After the training

The party left the field, covered in several new fighting scars from the rough training. Their weapons sheathed either on their back or along a belt on their waist. They laughed and joked along as they walked to the orbis tower, where Lyte was.

They found Lyte just leaving the tower, casually strolling towards the boats again. They smiled at each other as Lyte recognized who they were. He sighed. "What do you want now? I thought you wouldn't want to do this again…You wanna just leave go or go through the formality of actually fighting?" Tyler stepped forward to confront Lyte as Connor and Nicholas formed a barrier around the area. "So I guess it's the 2nd option then…" The wind, this time, instantly went over last times rate, 250 miles per minute. None of the party even flinched, let alone even move. Tyler whipped his spear so fast, that even Lyte almost got hurt. While they fought, the rest of the party separated into the corners of the barrier, giving them room. Rastevash once again appeared on his arm as a knuckle. Lyte sped across the field, practically invisible. After about 5 minutes, Tyler was on the losing side, so Jennifer sighed and moved to help him out. Lyte had just stunned Tyler with Double Uppercut when a couple of bullets whistled 2 millimeters away from him. Lyte smirked, kicking Tyler across the field, his wounds healing from energy drain from Tyler. The ground rumbled, and energy shot from the ground to Jennifer. (I'm gonna speed this up a little, cuz the plot isn't going by so fast.) About 30 min later, everyone was engaged in a fight with Lyte.

Their attacks were much more frequent, and Lyte's attacks mostly missing and he eventually went on the defensive. Lyte was mostly losing because of the twelve's Kanmarus, and he could not use his senses. See, they had the Kanmaru of Sound, Sight, Thought, Space, Metal, Illusions, Weight, Regeneration, Wood, Flight, Energy, and Matter. (I'll tell you who has who later on) Otherwise, he could've lasted longer, but the outcome will be the same.

The 12 surrounded Lyte, Nicholas froze Lyte and Jennifer launched a strong energy surge into Lyte, and he was knocked unconscious.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Intelligence 

A shadow trailed the group of twelve as they neared a house made of vines with Lyte. They were in one of the many hidden magic-guarded pathways of Ellinia, found and a secondary HQ from Captain. The group entered the dwelling whilst the shadow concealed himself in a couple of bushes. John's shadow partner vanished when he appeared in its place. _Wow, looks like he got in a little trouble here. _John sighed mentally. _It's like he does whatever he wants…So annoying. I did promise him though. I'll wait a couple hours till I go in; it gives her a minute to get here too. _John quickly got up and raced west for about ½ a mile, the minute he landed from Flash Jump a girl teleported next to him.

"Hey, Madison. For the millionth time, that's not the right way you're supposed to teleport!" "Oh, shut up." Madison wore a striped hooded shirt and washed denim cargos, equipped with dragon wand and a magician shield. She warded the area while John filled her in on what happened with Lyte. "He lost? Wow. Up against twelve developed C.R.s, even I wouldn't have lasted." Madison lay next to John. "Yeah." "Hey, I heard you lost against…whats his name? Right, Adrian." Electricity crackled around them. "Of course. I couldn't use my real thing anyways, and without it, I don't stand a chance." The day grew brighter as they talked the night away. Madison abruptly stood. "Time to go." She helped John up and they reappeared in the place John was at earlier in the day. John dark sighted them both and they entered the house.

The house was literally huge. Wooden planks filled the floor, and there were almost unlimited rooms and floors. The wall-vines were indestructible partly because they were so thick and strong and because magic filled Ellinia, so that the vines, if destroyed, would immediately regenerate. After some searching, John found that four of the twelve were asleep in private rooms, one was outside guarding the place, three were eating, and the rest were involved in conversation about plans for Lyte from Captain. Madison and Lyte quietly went down to the dungeons, still in Dark Sight. The cells were tightly compacted and small, so the prisoners couldn't escape. Vines lined the walls and the steel bars, locking them in. They had to go down about 8 floors before they found Lyte, chained to the wall. The chains were made from Dera, Connor's Kanmaru, so that they were almost unbreakable, plus they were enhanced by Zurren. Thus making it impossible to lift, over that, a dark aura was around Adrian, all restraining even the slightest movement. John, seeing this, instantly jumped to the side, turning in midair. "Oh sh-" An Avenger whistled by at the spot he was before. Madison stood next to him, holding her wand behind her. John braced himself as the Dark Sight wore off, the twelve now standing before them. "Now, look what we have here! Ever since we found that you were following us, John, we've followed you. You'll have a lot to answer to when you're taken back to Surge. And Madison! Amazing you would team with him, who would've thought we'd get rich and catch them today?" Dylan sneered.

The next moment Dylan was on the floor, with John standing over him, eyes cold. Madison looked at John, and chuckled. "Always rushing. Let's make this a bit fairer, John?" He smiled, their eyes turning transparent. Madison raised her wand and inch, and meteors, ice, and light erupted from the ceiling, scorching and the twelve as they struggled to react. A blue-ish green aura started to encircle Madison, but disappeared once it touched her. Emily's eyes widened as her aura circled her instead of Madison, and instantly fell to the floor, unconscious. Alex scowled; Zurren appeared, coiling around his arm. "It's true. The legend…which means.." John had just launched two Avengers at Justin, who was using Flarash to fly, when Alex tied a cloth over John's eyes. John instantly froze, and plummeted to the ground. Smoke filled the dungeon and when it cleared, a puppet lay on the ground. Madison, John, and Lyte were gone.

_Meanwhile…_

Lyza stood in an old, abandoned library, where John had left her. A couple cracked shelves were on the floor, and the books were dusty and old. There were holes on the roof and walls, but surprisingly enough, the place was sturdy and didn't fall even though the elements battled against it for years. Through the roof Lyza saw growing light, the beginnings of day. Lyza ran her fingers over the shelf nearest to her, looking for anything to pass the time. She reached the end of the top row when she saw an interesting book named _'Krein'_. _Interesting…where have I heard this before?_ Lyza wondered as she took the book and admired it. It was deep green, hard cover, and it was considered small. It was very new compared to the rest of the books around. The word **Krein **was on the cover in bold, and no author was there. She flipped to the first page. The writing was delicate and beautiful, as though even touching it would ruin it.

It read: _'Kreins are rather…unfortunate beings. They are mortals that are almost picked as one of the Chosen, but not. This book contains the tales of the Kreins, how they condemned, and how they were chosen to be second, and not the first. For the world is at its last generation, and the knowledge has to be passed from me through this, for I have no heir.' _Lyza turned to the next page. _'A long time ago, a perfect weapon was said to exist. One that never rusted, never broke, and never went blunt…This entity was called Excal, or what people now call it, Excalibur. Legend says that no one ever found it, but legends are never true. See, seven ordinary curious kids stumbled onto it one day, while exploring the ruins of Sharenian. They, of course, had no idea what it was. So, they touched it. Excal was 'magical', as in it unlocked your Kanmaru and took it to the next level. Immortality and the boundless pathways that lay before it. Excal had the strange ability to split into different parts, thus forming the first seven weapons. The tip of the blade turned into the swords, maces, and warrior like things, the rest of the blade turned into a thief's daggers and claw, the rain-guard into staffs and wands, the cross guard was turned into bows and crossbows, the grip and pommel turned into knuckles and guns. It split into each of them, bonding into their bodies. As a result, the seven sins were created. Before such seven beings existed, the world was peaceful, land prospered, and all was quiet. The seven were beyond anyone's reaches in power, even now. So, they created jobs. Because of this, war erupted in the classes, and bloodshed entered into the world for the first time. Years passed, and three withered and died. The four remaining realized what they were, and began their own world, now called Maplestory. And this is how the four jobs existed. The three that had withered and died were the strongest of them, it was said that their direct descendants were the Chosen. Their Kanmarus were transferred to their descendants. And if there happened to be more than one child in the family, then the first-born would be Chosen, but if the second was destined to be stronger, then they would switch. This, is how the Kreins were created, in such a appalling way. However, when the Kanmarus get transferred, they leave something. An absolute understanding of life, the ability to master all classes, and an individual ability. In some ways, Kreins are even stronger than Chosen. But, as usual, they are bound to protect the Chosen with their lives. That's their sole goal, their sole purpose, and their sole downfall.' _

John and Madison walked into the library, a dragon behind them carrying Lyte. Lyza immediately closed the book, cold flames erupted from it, and it disappeared. The sky had gotten dark from the time that Lyza had started reading the book. The dragon crouched on the floor, letting Madison and John take Lyte off from it. The air suddenly dropped to below freezing, and a sense of impending doom crept into their minds. Madison and John immediately wrapped Lyte in a dozen spells, and then they teleported him to another place. "What's happening?" Lyza sprinted towards John. He, however, glared at her and at the next moment, a transparent wall separated them. [_We'll let you out when this is over_] The place darkened, and sparks flew as sword met sword and magic met magic. 


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Restrictions

Madison held her hand out, and Justin crash landed on a particularly large shelf, knocking it and many others behind it down. Flarash went between the ground and him, trying to shield the pain and blood. John landed next to her, electric-flame severely wounding Tyler. Tyler flew backwards, through a wall, and into a crater in the ground before. Lyza stood next to the crater, and the room exceeded 100 degrees Celsius. Ronon surrounded Tyler, his Pertizan stuck half-way in the wall. As Lyza took out Lyte's blue crystal, Ronon entered into the weapon, aware of the danger. The air crackled with equal energy and pressure. The library grew suddenly brighter, and the party of twelve's wounds healed from Alora. The walls of the old place had a faint steel touch and it hummed with increasing vibrations. Madison smirked, touching the wall. The two Kanmaru's subsided. A couple of bullets embedded themselves into John, energy immediately bursting forward into his body, Jennifer's skill so-called 'Overload'. John appeared next to her. "Pity." The next moment she was struck by her own bullets, collapsing from her own skill, Overload. Alex materialized next to John at that moment, tying a band over his eyes. A demonic aura washed around John, and a invisible blade jammed into Alex, blood pouring everywhere. John moved at the pace that Lyte himself used, with Rastevash. Alex found himself in the air, John cut a long gash in his back and head. The pain made Alex black out as he was forced downwards in 250 miles per hour. Jack fired a Avenger at him, proving Ashley a moments distraction to heal Alex. An bronze eagle appeared right in front of him, so close that Jack could almost touch it, and he fell at and astonishing rate, the eagle piercing his stomach and heart. This time, a small glowing dragon cushioned the fall, summoned from Ashley, it healed all the wounds in a split second and it stayed with him the rest of the battle. Dylan had just (unfortunately) tied a band around Madison's eyes like what Alex had done to John, and the same demonic aura washed over her. The next thing that Dylan knew he had hit the ceiling and a dark ray of light was upon him, much like a Genesis, and he was stranded on the ground. All of his vital organs were pierced, but luckily, Ashley was there and healed the wounds. (Captain made Ashley the best healer with her Kanmaru) Nicholas attempted to hit Madison with ice, but instead John stood over him, and sharp large thing pieces of ice were stuck in his vital organs except his heart and his limbs. (They went all the way to the ground) Thus, Ashley appeared next to him, almost healing Nicholas. Unfortunately, Madison and John now both stood in front of Ashley. John touched her head and she felt Jennifer's awfully useful skill, and she fell. Without Ashley, the rest quickly fell. When John, Lyza, and Madison left, the library was covered in blood. The books were all burnt, but they let the twelve live. The place stank of blood.

Madison teleported them to Omega Sector, where John and her had sent Lyte, and entered into the tunnel. This time, John teleported them underground into a perfecting furnished underground cave/house. There were a total of ten rooms, and furnished. The living room was big enough to fit a store. At the left side there was a fireplace, some couches, a TV, and a coffee table. The right side, however, was pitch-black, so unable to see. Once they got in, Madison went to go see Lyte while John and Lyza seated themselves in the living room. John sighed and looked at her. "I know you want to ask questions. Go ahead." Refreshments appeared on the table. "Fine. Where are we?" John sipped his water. "This is Omega Sector. But you should know, we've been here before from a mission from Captain, remember? Anyways, I found this while we were resting. So, I built this place. Its perfect, nobody can get in except from me and whoever I teleport." Lyza looked at her water, and if on cue, it started bubbling from heat. "Alright then. Who were those twelve people? They had their Kanmarus released, and they were sent from Ryan. I've never saw them before. Why did they attack us?" John poked the dying flame in the fireplace, buying him some time. "You know the answer already. Those twelve were after Lyte and you. Ryan is the 'Black Magician' as they say. And, well, he's creating the 'perfect' world for himself. He calls this project the 'Void'. All he needs now is you, Adrian, and Lyte." The water steamed, creating a small fog around the area. The temperature grew warmer too. "I know. But, you know, those twelve aren't dead. They're already recovering. Ryan wouldn't have trained them for nothing. Like us, they can almost not be able to die." John was about to reply when footsteps came from the other room, where Lyte was kept.

John gave Lyza a look of sympathy before rushing to Madison. Madison said something in a hushed and hurried voice, and they both walked off to Lyte's room. John paused and looked back at Lyza. "Your room is on the top floor, second to the last door on the right. Go and rest. We've got something important to deal with now." With that, he rushed to catch up to Madison. Lyza sighed. _At least I can rest a bit and eat. I'm beat. Plus I can check on that book again. _She slowly walked up the two sets of steps and followed John's directions. Her door was wooden the same as every other in the house, and a single gold plaque stood in the middle, marked 'Lyza'. She entered and found a rather large bedroom (twice the size of the one you have at home. Regardless of how big it is.). A neatly made up bed was in the corner, and a lamp was next to it. There was a cabinet on the opposite side of the bed, next to a bright window. The rest was the same as your bedroom, except maybe a computer and a TV built right into the room.

Lyza sat on the bed, holding up her hand. Red sparks flew around it, and the green book was on her hand. Her back against the wall, she flipped to where she left off, and began again.

'_Tyr, Kain, and Night, the three sins that died, had a lot of descendants after they died. So, now, for a Krein to be bound to a Chosen, he or she isn't always related to the Chosen. It was said that the last generation had the strongest krein. I do not know if this is true, but the three are the most capable to actually survive, which usually doesn't happen. Kreins usually die before the Chosen fulfill their purpose. The last three have the most formidable unique ability. For the past years, the Chosen have succeeded in bringing the Dark Magician's schemes to a temporary halt, but I fear that he is more than he seems. 'The Last Generation'. I bade you to see the diagram at the end of this book before he finds that this exists. If he does, the Chosen will be doomed, and the last three will wither like 'they' did. __Please, before you too expire, warn the last three. There is only one way for redemption.' _The pages of the book moved on their own accord, from old wasted magic that was there for centuries of it's time, even before the book was created. The pages stopped at a page near the end, where the diagram that the author mentioned was on. It was very simple, made from the three sins' families, Kreins, and Chosen. At the top of the three diagrams were Tyr, Kain, and Night, below tons of families. The three Kreins were marked in green while the Chosen were marked in gold. Lyza skimmed down to the bottom part of the page. At the last column, marked in green, were John, Madison, and the number Thirteen. Next to that was the gold marked Lyza, Lyte, and Adrian. A black line indicated which was bonded to each. John's line ended at Lyza, Madison's at Lyte, and Thirteen's at Adrian. Lyza looked up from the book, feeling a strange presence in the room. Red sparks immediately surrounded the book, and it disappeared. A second after a golden glow erupted from the right side of her room, when it cleared, Lyte, John, and Madison stood there. The presence was Night himself, in a ghostly form. He looked like he was in his twenties, even though it was obvious that he had been alive for much longer than that. They never got to study or ask him questions, for a black vision-hole appeared next to him.

At first it was like you were looking from someone else's eyes. Captain was right in front of you, and talking. You could hear nothing, but you knew he was talking about something important. Captain stopped talking, and the person bowed and left the room. The vision blackened. This time you were looking from far away and Captain was entering his laboratory. He goes through a series of corridors and hallways before he reaches a big room. He opens the door, and goes in. In the room stood a guy tied on a cross. His whole body was chained, even his head. Black bandages were wrapped around his arms and legs. A black band was around his head. Ropes extended from the walls and were wrapped around his hands, neck, and legs. The scene ends as Captain talks to the man. The last scene shows a man in a office, obviously important. Blood dropped to the floor, and the electricity in the room was cut off. A second later he was on the ground, scarcely in recognized as a human. Painted on the wall with his blood was the word 'Thirteen'.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Preparations

"_It only takes a second to die…" Amidst the darkness, a clock ticks for five seconds. "A beating heart…" The clock fades and a human heart __appears which beats slowly to nothing. Doctors and surgeons yell commands in the background as they find the dying person. "A wave of a hand…" The heart fades and an arm forms. The arm moves back for about an inch and the vision fades. While it withers, you can hear a explosion and the screaming of the dead. "A drop of water…" This time it shows a droplet slowly dropping onto a unknown pavement, and in the background you can hear millions of cries, wishes, desires that have never been fulfilled, and never will be. Just as the droplet was about to fall into the puddle, the scene suddenly darkens. "It takes one second for a life to stop, an organization to corrupt, a continent to fall. It takes one second for humans to stop their adolescent quarrels, for them to see the light. And also, for death to claim the 'greatest race'." A figure grows into view as the last sentence was said. He was on his knees, and chains far from view tied his wrists so that they were spread apart. He slowly opens his eyes, revealing red eyes. (Note: The narrator is not showing this to you, nor is he/she saying the stuff.)_

A fist slammed into a desk, sending paper and glass to the floor. "THEY GOT AWAY!?!? I TOLD YOU TO HOLD THEM THERE! DAMN IT!" Alex and Jennifer stood opposite of Captain, who restlessly paced around the room. "I was THIS close to getting it this time! Shit…I'm going to have to do this earlier than I thought.." Captain stopped behind his desk and looked at the two. "Send Justin to Omega and put it on lockdown. I need to know what the Kreins are doing. You two protect Adrian from them, he may need it. Have half of the remaining of your group blend with the guards and the other half train the 3rd job people. When they advance turn them into fourth job and 'awaken' them. But before that, you all need to come with me. Its obvious first level isn't strong enough. Gather the rest of your party and meet me in the lab in ten minutes. I will explain the details to your group then. Go." Jennifer and Alex nodded and left.

Exactly ten minutes afterwards, a bright blue flash illuminated the room, announcing the arrival of the party. Captain stood facing the wall behind his desk, his hand on the wall. A small archaic symbol appeared on the wall and it flashed once, twice. The wall groaned and split into two paths, the symbol in the very middle. By now the rest of the walls of the room had archaic symbols on it, infused with magic. Captain glanced at the party, who kept looking around the room, alert for any danger. "Come on. Follow me. I'll explain the details of why I called you here and what your orders are after this." Captain walked through the path made from the walls without pausing for the party. The group hurried to follow him as they inspected the new area.

The area was rather big, godly weapons were on racks on the left side, while the right had scrolls, battle plans, monster drops, potions and so on so forth. As they passed several pathways and rooms, the group found that the whole area was full of items, even mounts and newly invented technology. All in all, it was quite the amazing place. Finally they reached a dimly lit room. A table was in the middle of the room, and on it were every kind of crystal there ever was. In front of every crystal was a name engraved in stone, such as Troy, Anthony, and Trevor. Strangely, an aura pulsated from each and every crystal. The auras were all different from each other, in size, power, and color. Each jewel was different, one way or another. Either it was a different color, or a different size, but all were not the same.

Captain strolled to the table, brushing his fingers on an Emerald. "These here are special jewels. You're sworn to keep this secret, until every one of these are gone. Anyways, as you know, the Chosen have been after me and have temporarily stopped me before. They are foolish enough to believe that I was going to unleash my project soon. Well, I've been gathering power. These here are the remnants, or souls or power, however you may put it, of the past Chosen who have either fallen or sided with me before. Inside these crystals are their stamina, strength, skills, abilities, and senses. Their memories and personality are gone, but calling on them give you quite a boost. I have found a special place for these to be. Over the years, I have learned that these crystals can bond with your body, giving you what they have. The place is just behind the heart. They won't harm you, so you're free from pain. I'm going to bond them to you. You won't feel anything, and afterwards you'll be perfectly fine. Your body will be like it has a sixth sense, and your power and things will be increased by a lot. After all of you have done this, I'll tell you your orders."

Captain took a medium-sized powerful sapphire, named Aidan, and beckoned Alex to step forward. Captain raised the sapphire to Alex's heart is supposed to be, and murmured _"Gladius Adorior" _. Alex felt a slight tinge, and the sapphire was gone. About three seconds later, he felt his senses rise and the power of a Paladin wash into him. A door on the other side of the room opened. "You are now 'raised'. Go into that door if you want to test your new skills." Alex turned and rushed into the room. The rest of the party was fairly the same. When the last of the party was finished, Captain called in the party. They filed into the room, excited from their newfound power. Captain stood in front of them. "I hope you're satisfied. The Kreins will be no match for you now. They can get affected from only the Chosen's magic. Now that they're in you, you have no such problem. Your orders are as follows. Justin, you go to Omega Sector and put it on lockdown and also see what the Chosen are doing. Alex and Jennifer stay with Adrian, I'm sure they'll target him. Tyler, Laura, Nick, and Ashley will train fourth and third jobbers and, when they're ready, awaken them. The rest of you will blend in with the guards and ensure that they don't get in before we're ready. The leaders of the guards will be Conner, and the other Tyler. Report in my office every night at 8 pm. Also, you are to not tell anyone about this room, these crystals, or anything. If you do, you're as good as dead." The next moment they were back in Captain's office, and the wall and everything was back in it's original place, as if the part had never happened. The only way that the twelve could tell that they had actually seen the room and crystals were the increased senses and the fact that the crystals were 'drawn' to Captain. "Now, Tyler and his team come to me in the morning. I have to make sure you won't accidently kill your people when you awaken them. Jennifer, only you come to report at 8 pm. Alex stays with Adrian. Tell Adrian the plan. Now your orders are finished. Go rest for the night and your new mission commences tomorrow." The twelve left, leaving Captain alone.

_Narrator: Shadows lurk in the dark. Beings unknown to us, bound to the laws of old magic. He knows not what he has done, while he knows all, but does nothing. __Before you kill, before you wash your sword in their blood, what do you see?_


End file.
